Ikea’s history, philosophy, and opaque ownership structure are but a few of the topics covered in The Guardian’s two detailed articles on the flatpack furniture empire. Both throwaway trivia and critical facts are revealed. You may think that Ikea makes money on sheer volume alone, but 17%-18% of an item price is pure profit. The practically forced walkthrough of the entire Ikea showroom increases the chance for impulse purchases, particularly of those items that just seem too cheap to pass up even though you never imagined you would need one. I stare at our many Billy shelves and wonder how many books in the 31 Ikea countries are stored in this best seller. It all began in the farming town of Älmhult, Sweden.